Wednesday, January 21, 2015

2015 Florida Trip – Day 18 – The Beach & Quesajitas

Even though we were near Port Charlotte, it was still about a 25 mile drive over to the nearest beach at Englewood, FL and since we can’t come to Florida without at least seeing the water, off we went.  It was a sunny, 80 degree day and the public beach was pretty well full of sun bathers – Pat and Bev checked it out while I got a shot of them.


These shots are further north in a low populated area.



The plan was to go out for supper per Bev’s desire, but then she decided it might be better to cook at home and use the meat and avocado we had in the fridge.

Bev had purchased some thin sliced (about ¼“) top round called Beef Milanesa and from what I read it should have said beef for beef Milanesa which is a dish and not a cut of meat.   We discussed whether to have fajitas or quesadillas and based upon the large size of our tortillas and love of crispy ones, we settled on fajita makings made into a quesadilla and named it the quesajita.

We used the ingredients as we would for fajitas and prepared them as follows:

1. Make up some seasoning from Chamayo chile powder, smoked paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, & cumin (the stuff we had on hand).
2. Slice or shred some cheddar cheese (or your favorite)
3. Julienne some red & green bell pepper and slice some onion into half-moons.
4. Slice the meat into ½“ wide strips.
5. Add the vegetables to the pan, season with S&P and the above spice mix and sauté them until about almost done then remove and keep warm.



6. Add the meat to the pan, season it as the veggies and cook until just done.
7. Add the veggies back to the meat, mix thoroughly, remove from heat, and keep warm.




8. Wipe out the pan (we only have one 12” skillet) and turn heat to medium.
9. Lay a tortilla in the 12” skillet, add cheese to one side, and the meat/vegetable mixture to the other side and add a lid if you have one.



10. When the cheese is melted and the tortilla bottom is crispy, flip the cheese half over the meat half and remove to a plate.



Bev made the guacamole by adding some jarred salsa, cumin, and lime juice to a Florida avocado.


My quesajita only got topped with a nice amount of guac.


For a throw together with stuff we had on hand, they were pretty darned good.

Photos can be enlarged by clicking on them.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

1/13/15 event date

15 comments:

  1. How fun to find a low populated beach in south Florida. It's certainly not the case down this way. Great plan to eat at home. Food's better there for sure and from the looks of your photos, you dined in style.
    Sam

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  2. Now thats a fun day especially the cooking at home. Enjoy the warm weather.

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  3. You quesajitas look delicious. The beach looked nice as well.

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  4. I love the beach in the winter!

    The quesadillas look delicious! Now I want one for lunch! *shouldn't read blogs while hungry*

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  5. One gent accompanied to the beach by two lovely ladies! You certainly are the lucky one! Glad you're having such a good time in Florida.

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  6. Larry, My sister-in-law (our son's godmother) and her second husband spend January - March in a little lakeside village down in Englewood. Sounds like your trip is going well...and staying warm too. It was 63 degrees and sunny here yesterday. Today will be the 5th sunny day in a row with temperatures in the mid-50's or higher. We do have a cold spell coming by this weekend. Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

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  7. Hi There, I lived in Venice (north of you) for about 4 yrs in the early '70's.... Loved that area and the beach.. Back then, Venice was a small town and there was NO interstate down that way!!!!

    Your Mexican dinner sounds wonderful... Oh how I love Mexican.
    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  8. Your meal looks delicious Larry. Glad you have warm weather. It is still a little cooler in North Florida. Hope you can stop by before you head back.

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  9. You eat the best food from stuff you just throw together!

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  10. So pleased you stopped by, Larry....I feel as though I know the two of you via Sam and Penny! You guys sure have some good meals and great fun together.
    Your fajita tortilla looks delicious! You put together some amazing meals in one pan!
    We in VERY south Florida are having an amazingly warm winter. I know our visitors want it like that, but I'd really enjoy some cooler weather.
    Your photos are fun!

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  11. That looks great! I haven't met a beach I didn't like. Enjoy!

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  12. Wow, that looks delicious! I used to make quesadillas often when my girls still lived at home but don't get them often enough any more.

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  13. Better than what you would have gotten in a restaurant, for sure. You are spot on about the milanesa but I've seen it sold as a "cut" at walmart. The dish is awesome, I think of it as South American chicken fried steak, lol. Poor suckers are missing out on the sawmill gravy though ;)

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